Road building apparatus



m. 27, 1940. H. L R WDER 2,192,021

ROAD BUILDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 //v VEN TOE HELEN INGALLS CKOk/DER ATTOKNEYS Feb. 27, 1940. H. CROWDER ROAD BUILDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 14, 1935 4 Sheets-Shet 2 IN VE N TOR HELEN /N6AI.L5 C/eowoae ATTOEN Q 9 mm w Fr can

mm QM Feb. 27, 1940. H. CROWDER ROAD BUILDING APPARATUS 4 Shets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 14. 1935 INVENTOR. HELEN /N6HLL5 Ceou/osla Patented Feb. 27, 1940 Yo NriiEJ-o sTA'r,

E Wiles ROAD BUILDING APPARATUS Helen Ingalls Crowder, Bakersfield, Calif. Application -ilctober 14, 1935, Serial No. 44,957

5 Claims.

into the soil at adepth to enable it t o ascend intoupper and such other parts of the soil to thus :provide a product in which a very minimum amount of structural liquid can be used to produce a product or great strength and durability.

' 'l he translation of the lighter structural liquids he says, is due to one or probably a number of different factors, such as lighter liquids by imposing a suitable pressure in a downward direction upon the mass of soil under treatment whereby said lighter structural liquids arevirtually floated to desiredpositions in the mass; V i 2. he natural tendency of theselig-hter' liquids tougradually find suitable vpositionsin the mass by reason of capillary attraction "and/or adhesion and other natural forces. I 30 Structural liquids ref-errcd to herein shall be taken to mean waterand/or road oilor any combination of these liquids or emulsions thereof or combinations of any other liquids capable of being used in road construction. I

v chine for practicing the method aforementioned in a single operation. 1 1

A further object is to provide a machine which will insure retention of the original contour lines of the top surface of the road.

ingly compact machine-adapted to be pulled by any suitable well known form of power unit, such as atractor.

smother objectis to provide a machine having a running gear. the form of which will enable the machine to'turn in short working spaces.

Another object is to provide almachine having a .i-gunning gear in which the tread surface of a novel arrangement of supporting Wheels will effectively sustain the load of the machine and enable the machine to bequickly'transported with a minimum of road resistance and friction and;

therefore, with aminimum of power.

1. Forced translation or distribution of the An object or my "invention is to provide a .ma- I A still further object is to provide an exceed- 7 Anotherobject is to provide a machine in which certain at least -.of the supporting wheels of the running gear will co -act with a leveling or smoothing roll to insure uniformsmoothing and Satisfactory leveling of the top surface of the road. :6 l

Anotl'ler object is to provide a machinehaving means to positively insure burial of rocks and other hard objectionable objects beneath the top surface or the soil under treatment and thereby permit the top surface to be smooth finished.

Another object is to providea machine having means for selectively distributing ballastalong the superstructure of the machine so that the machine will be nicely balanced and thesoil penetration implements maintained in operative 5 relationship to the soil.

.Another object is to :provide a machine Whereby certain operations can be conducted insuch 7. sequence that when the machine shall have moved away from an immediately preceding worked 3 section of. the soil, said section will have been fully prepared and will be ready to have, imposed thereonqnormal traffic. y

Another object of .the invention is to provide a machine in which practically all of the orking or soil penetrating implements are mounted upon a frame which is adjustable vertically relative to a draft frame, whereby said implements can be made to penetrate the soil to any-depth within amaximum range provided for.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine employing a main wheeled frame and a vertically adjustable implement carrying frame, each of said frames having its ownjdrait connection,t he two said connections serving to insure an even line of pull upon said frames, the connection for the vertically adjustable frame being disposed and constructed to enable the steering, Wheels of the main "frame to be 'operatively steered during transportation of th machine when the implement carrying frame is ini'a raised position of adjustment.

Another object of the invention is the use of a machine including an implement carrying frame by means of which operations in the following sequence can be conducted:

"'1. An operation which consists of distributing water upon the top surface of the soil to soften the soil and render it readily susceptible to the action of others of the implements employed;

[2;An operation consisting in supplying the soil with water and/or oil or other "structural liquids while imposing weight'upon the soil penetrating and liquid injecting implements to there'- by maintain said implements in operative working positions;

3. An operation which includes planing the top surface of the soil as a final operation, except in cases where it may be desired to further treat the top surface.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of a machine whereby controiled portions of structural liquids can be distributed to the soil over a predetermined lateral area of the soil.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of a machine in which practically all essential adjustments of the implements can be controlled from the operators platform at v the rear of the machine.

I wish to make it clear that wherever mention is made herein of the use of oil and water or water and any other road building liquid or liquids this shall mean use separately of these various liquids; use thereof as an emulsion; or us thereof in any combination desired. v

Another object of the invention resides in an exceedingly novel form of running gear in which the rear wheels thereof are formed to provide road smoothing and pressing surfaces in coaction with a trailing roll of suitable form to impose weight upon the soil throughout the transverse area of the part or section being completed. I

Another object is to provide a running gear in which the rear wheels are characterized as aforementioned and are otherwise formed to enable said smoothing and pressing surfaces to be elevated above the ground when the machine is not in use and is being transported. .Another object of the invention is to provide a machine in which an implement carrying frame is provided with shoes adapted to occupy positions laterally of the area of the soil being treated and disposed to enable operations of the machine to be observed by the operator ,at the rear platform.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will. unfold themselves as the description and drawings'are better understood, in which drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine;

Figure 2 is aview in side elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view of a portion of the front axle of the main frame showing the manner in which the draft cable is centered and confined in a rela-' .tively fixed position at the bearing element for the pivot stem of the front axle;

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 55 of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 6 is a vertical section of the swiveled liquid outlet of one of the tanks employed;

Figure '7 is a horizontal sectional viewtaken substantially on the line 1-'i of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a view on a somewhat enlarged scale of the parts shown in Figure '7;

Figure 9 is a vertical section through the screw supports for the adjusting means of the implement carrying means;

Figure 10 is a view in section, with parts in full lines, of a sleeve valve for controlling the feeding of liquid to the elements from whichthe liquid is to be conducted to the soil;

Figure 11 is a detail View in vertical section through one of the angle bars of the implementcarrying frame taken on line 11-41 of Figure7;

is central of the frame.

Figure 12 is a view in'top plansimilar to the formof the invention shown in Figure 1, and i1- lustrating certain modifications;

Figure 13 is a view in side elevation of aporof the agitating and depositing elementsshown in Figure 12. y

In carrying, the invention into practice, and with particular reference to the form shown in Figures 1 to 11, inclusive, use is made of a main frame 26 consisting of longitudinal channel bars 21, the forward ends of which are relatively converging and terminate at 22 along a line which At the rear ends, said frame bars are extended laterally to provide portions 23,'terminating in short rearward extensions 24, the said portions 23 and 24 of said frame bars serving as a support for an operator's platform 25. It is from this platform that practically all adjustments of the implement carrying frame can be made in a manner to be described presently.

At the rear of said main porting wheels 25 each provided with an inner wheel proper 21 which may be faced at its peframe 25 are supriphery with a pneumatic tire orthetlike, and

at the outside of saidwheel proper is an annular band or roller section 28. the external diameter of which is less than the external. diameterof the tire of the wheelproper, the purpose therefor to be explained as the description progresses.

At the front of the main frame 21 is a hollow bearing post 29 throughwhich the vertical post 3% of the steering axle 31 extends. The axle 3| is provided with supporting wheels 32 preferably equipped with pneumatic or other suitable tires Overlying the main frame 2! is a somewhat smaller or shorter frame 3 5, the same being spaced apart from the underlying frame 2| by suitable truss members 35. The forward ends of the respective side bars of the frame 34 are con nected with the upper end of the hollow member 29 in which the vertical post ofthe axle can turn i as aforementioned. Mounted upon the frametfi are liquid holding tanks 35 and 31, one of which may contain oil and the other water or, if desired, one or even both thereof may contain'an emulsion of these liquids. It will be noted that these tanks are mounted between blocks 38cm the side bars of the frame 34, said blocks being, v

equipped with angle strapsfil (Fig. 5), having short flanges fill) in which adjustment retaining bolts 4! are mounted and adated' to be brought into clamping relation to adjacent surfaces of the frame bar of which said blocks area part. In view of this construction, it follows that either one or both of said tanks can be adjusted longitudinally so that the weight of the tank and its. 1

' connected to provide a rigid structure by trans verse bars 456545} and 45. Mounted on the im'- plement carrying frame and disposed in longitudinal alinement .with'each other are universal joints 4?, each including an. element 49- having a verticalpcylindrical stem 50 adapted to move vertically in guides 5i mounted upon the frame 2|... The u per ends, of the stems 50 are provided with worm screw portions .52 which are reare provided with manually actuable wheels 5! for, transferring motion to the gears 55 and, in. turn, to the worm gear nuts 53 and thereby imbe incidentally mentioned at this point that when the implement carrying frame is fully adjusted in an upward direction the implements of the frame will entirely clear the surface of the roadway.

The aforementioned bars 45 and 45 constitute .1; parts of the implement carrying frame and are extended laterally beyond the respective sides of the machine as shewn in Figure 1, and same are connected by suitable bars 58. Suspended from the bars 58' by adjusting screws 59 are longi- :1 tudinal runners 60, the screws serving to permit these runners to be adjusted vertically relative to the implement carrying frame. These screws also function to. determine the extent of downward movement of the implement carrying frame to thereby limit the extent of penetration of the liquid distributing elements. .Mounted in brackets 5| at the extreme ends of the runners Bil are wheels 62, provided upon theiryperipheral faces with rubber tires, the same adapted to roll upon the surface of the soil. In order to accelerate movement of the feed screws 58, there is disposed between the frame 2| and the implement carrying frame a suitable retractile spring 53; the same serving to effect an upward lift ofthe implement carrying frame when the screws are turned to effect upward adjustment of said frame.

In front of the implement carrying frame are rearwardly diverging disk gangsS'G, 54, and same are mounted at 55 for vertical adjustment in order that the depth of penetration of thedisks can be regulated. Any suitable well-known adjusting means can be provided for this purpose.

The disks of each of the gangs are eachset'at an;

angle to cut a furrow in the soil and to throw .the soil inwardly. In other words, the forms of 3 these disks are such that soil cut by one thereof will bethrown into the furrow cut by the next adjacent disk. We can assume thatthe tank 31 the manifolds 58 are connected together by a fitting it having .a control valve -ll, and from said fitting there is extended a length of flexible tubing 72' which is removably connected by a coupling 13 to the valved branch 14 of pipe 61.

.,.Instead of. connecting the manifolds with the tank 3i, thehose '12 may be uncoupled from the branch pipe it and connectedwith' a wheeled supply. tank which may be coupled to the machine sov as to follow behind same. Water conducted 1. to l the. :disksmay. beaapplied .toithe crust 40f J. the

.ferred to the boxes soil to assist in softening same, as a'preliminary step, or before the implement carrying frame is lowered for effective penetration of its implements into the soil, hence the provision of means 65 aforestated which enables the disk gangs to 'be adjusted independently of the implement carrying frame. It is to be understood, however, that said disk gangs are also intended to coact with other implements and their association relative thereto will be explained hereinafter.

Liquid distributing pipes or manifolds 15 are secured to the side members of the implement carrying frame 42 beneath the straps 4 and same are in communication with each other at their front ends through a fitting 16 to. which a hose section Ti is connected, the same coupled.

to a. pipe '18, a small portion of which is shown in Figure 2. This pipe, in turn, leads to the liquid supply tank 35 through a flexiblehose 19. The hose 565 or the hose 7!), depending upon which of the tanks 36 or 3"! is, being used, is coupled at is with a compressor 8i whereby forced delivery of the liquid can be effected. The compressor is mounted upon the platform 25 and may be driven by a suitable motor 82, also mounted on said platform. I

The manifolds F5 are provided with sliding sleeve valves 83, ported at 84 for controlled registration with delivery pipes 85, the sameleading into the manifolds. These delivery pipes run to respective vertically adjustable harrow teeth 86 and plows 6?. The lower ends of the pipes 85 are disposed directly above substantially horizontal flanges Bla of combined shields and baffie members 88 secured to the respective harrow teethfand plows t'L'whereby to effect a lateral spreading of the liquid and prevent clogging of the pipes. The sleeve valves 83 are operatively connected by control rods 89 with operating levers 95 of the conventional quadrants Sla herein illustrated. It is in this manner thatthe valves can be manually adjusted to regulate the discharge of, the liquid from said manifolds.

In back of the implement carrying frame 42 and hung from the main frame is a road scraper 9L the same having an intermediate straight section 92 extending parallel to the axis of the rear wheels 26 and forwardly-diverging end wings 93.

In back of the rear wheels 26 is a transverse roller 94 journaled to turn freely in bearing boxes 94a which are slidable vertically in guide brackets 95 which depend from the sides of said main frame 281. Said boxes may be moved vertically by adjusting screws 55a as shown in Figure 3, said screws having bevel gears at which mesh with driving gears 91 on a counter shaft 98. One of the screws is extended to a desired elevation'abovethe platform and is provided with a crank handle 99 adaptedto be manually operated so that adjusting motion can be trans- Ma to raise and lower said roller 94.

Each of the tanks or 3'! is provided with a swiveled outlet pipe I00 having avertical liquid intake legllllia disposed inthe tank and provided at its lower end with a weight ll)! by means of which-the lower end of said intake leg 10a will be constantly held in a vertical position. The pipe Hill includes a short horizontal section I92mounted to turn in a suitable stuffing box I03 in the adjacent end wall of the tank.

At the front of the main frame 29 is a clevis carrying frame is a draft connection Hi6 adapted also to be attached to the tractor. Said connection it is disposed in line with the longitudinal center of the frame 12, and same is 1 threaded through the eye it)? of the front axle 3 i.

In practice, the machine is used as follows: The surface of the soil, depending upon the condition thereof, is first sprayed with water in sufficient quantity to softenthe top crust. The water may be applied by an ordinary sprinkling machine, but in some instances it is preferable that it be accomplished by the spray pipes 69 behind the disks 6d. Assuming that it is done in this way, the implement carrying frame 42 is raised to entirely clear the teeth 85 and the shares ill'la of the plows 8? from the ground. The disks 6d are then sufliciently lowered to enable same to penetrate the ground to an intended depth, at which time the machine can be propelled over the ground to harrow same andincorporate in the soil the desired amount of water for softening purposes of the soil.

After the top soil is moistened, as aforesaid, and the moisture has set for a sufiicient period of time, the implement carrying frame may be lowered to effect penetration of the harrow teeth 86 and said shares lfi'la to the intended depth inthe soil. The disk 6 2- can be lowered to penetrate the ground to a predetermined depth above "the depth of penetration by the teeth 3% and said ing therefrom may be connected with the com pressor for forced delivery of the liquid to the manifolds l5 and 68. Should it not be desired to convey liquid behind the disks 54, the hose [2 may be disconnected from the pipe E i and the branch Hid of the T-connection Nb of the pipe stopped in any suitable manner, such as by plugging same, thus compelling the liquid to pass only to the manifolds i5. Substantially a like operation can be performed should it be desired to prevent passage of liquid to the manifolds l5 and direct same only to the manifolds B8 of said 60 relative to the frame 42. When the machine disk gangs. 1

It is understood, of course, that the elfective extent of penetration of the teeth 86 and the shares of plows 8'1? will be determined by a predetermined adjustment of the runners or shoes is set to operate as last stated, the shoes fill will travel squarely upon the surface of the soil'laterally of the area being actually worked. The disks 64 will harrow the soil and throw same inwardly, with the result, incident to the angles at which the gangs are set, that the soil loosened by one disk of the gang of which it is a part will be thrown into the furrow formed by the next adjacent disk of the same gang. This action of the disk gangs is followed by the plows 8"? and harrow teeth 8%, the plows being so set relative to each other and being of a form that will completely rip the soil for the intended depth and thoroughly saturate same with liquid. With the soil prepared and saturated as aforestated, same will next be leveledand prepared for the pressing thereof by the roller 94 and the co-acting roller sections 28 of the rear wheels of the machine and same will be sufficiently condensed as to render the road thus formed in a single operation fit for immediate use.

The form of my invention shown in Figures 12 to 14:, inclusive, is substantially'the same as the form first'described. As to the parts thatare the same structurally and functionally the same reference characters will be used to designate same. In this form, and in lieu of the plows 81, I employ plows 280' arranged in pairs, and provided with shares 26! for turning the soil in the direction of the center line of travel of the 7 pair of plows are closely related to each other,

whereas the inner ends of the rearmost pairs are spaced apart from each other. The rakesare of corresponding lengths, and because of the manner in which they are mounted, it follows that at each side of the longitudinal center of the machine there will be provided a diagonal row of rakes, the rakes of each said row being stag-- gered or stepped with respect to each other and disposed with respect to the shares of the plows 200 to cause stones or clods and heavy objects to be raked into the furrows formed by said shares,

and to be well sprayed with the liquid preparatory to being covered beneath the topsoil. Dirt passing through the teeth of the rakes'will thus be prepared throughout the transverse area of the soil being treated, whereby the top surface of the soil will be clear'edof objectionable objects for final surfacing thereof. In back of the scraper sum is a mechanism 203 for converting the top soil into a substantially mobile or fully workable structural mix in which substantially all particles of soil will be thoroughly impregnated with structural liquid preparatory to imposing the loads of the roller 94 and surfaces 28 thereon. This mechanism consists of a hollow fixed shaft 204 sup-,

ported in brackets2ll5. in a frame 296, the latter formed for vertical adjustment and hung from the main frame 2|, one end of which has a liquid feed pipe 206a, valved at 20'! and tapped into the liquid supply pipe of the tank 35 orl3l, as shown at 208. Mounted to revolve on the shaft 204 is a sleeve 209, the sameprovided with mixing and liquid distributing members, each provided with an annular series of teeth 210. .The teeth are slightly curved in alongitudinal direction and the nose ends 2 thereof are sharp pointed and case hardened for effective penetration of the soil. The lower portion of the shaft 205 is provided with ports N3 whichsuccessively register with ports M2 in the teeth 2 if! during rotation of the sleeve 2%. Said ports 2l2 open at their outer ends onto spreaders or bafile elements 2l3a at the convex faces of said teeth. A motor 2M is employed for turning the sleeve 209 in a clockwise direction, a power transmitting means, such as the chain drive 2l5 being employed for conveying power to the sleeve from said motor. The feed pipe 206a at one end of shaft 20 may consist of a suitable length of flexible hose 2560., as herein illustrated. This is necessary in orderthat the shaft204 may be raised and lowered as desired. Therefore, the frame structure .206 which supports said shaft is likewise of an-extensible construction, as shown, and is hung from the main frame 20.

It follows, from what has been stated, that after liquid has been introduced into the soil at the predetermined depth or depths by the implements of the frame 42, the top soil will finally 'be converted into a road mix by reason of the rotary liquid distributing and soil stirring and agitating elements 2) immediately preparatory to imposing the weight of the roller 94 and surfaces 28 thereon. When the roller 94 and said surfaces 28 contact the top soil pre-treated as just mentioned, said top soil will be in a freshly wetted or saturated condition whereby it will be freely susceptible to the action of these pressure surfaces and effectively condensed thereby and the top soil well sealed off and made moisture repellant.

In order to preserve the intended or desired contour of the road, the machine may be provided with any suitable form of grader blade supplemental to the blade 9|, and same can be disposed at any suitable location upon the machine or, if desired, it may form a separate implement to be controlled by the machine or to follow same.

While I have shown a machine adapted to be drawn by a separate trailing vehicle, it is to be understood that the machine may be equipped with its own power plant in order that it may be self-propelled.

A feature of the invention which I desire to particularly emphasize is the manner in which the liquid can be discharged beneath the surface of the soil by means of the harrow teeth 86 and their co-acting liquid discharge pipes, and the means consisting of the plows 81 and their associated liquid discharge pipes, whereby liquid can be discharged into the furrows cut by the shares of these plows. A further feature which I wish to particularly stress is the manner in which the liquid delivered to each one of the soil penetrating implements will be spread over a very large lateral area. In this connection, it will be noted that the specific spacing of the plows as shown in Figure 7 and the harrow teeth 86 will provide for an effective lateral distribution of the liquid substantially throughout the transverse area being treated.

What is claimed is:

1. A road building machineincluding a portable draft frame, a pair of frame bars spaced vertically therefrom, a plurality of pairs of spaced blocks mounted on and movable longitudinally of said frame bars, clamping means on said blocks and operatively related to said bars for securing the blocks in various positions of adjustment with respect to the bars, a liquid tank of substantial size mounted on said frame bars between the respective pairs of said blocks and readily movable therewith to provide a ballast for insuring stability of the machine when operating.

2. In-a road building machine and in combination, a portable draft frame, a pair of frame bars spaced vertically therefrom, a plurality of pairs of spaced blocks mounted on and movable longitudinally with respect to said frame bars,

and liquid distributing means having operative connection with said liquid tank for delivering liquid therefrom to the soil beneath the surface thereof and adjacent the implements on said carrying frame.

3. A road building machine including a portable draft frame having a liquid tank mounted to be readily shifted fore and aft of the frame and being of a substantial size to thus provide a ballast to insure stability of the machine when operating; an implement carrying frame having a plurality of implements mounted. thereon in substantially V-shaped' formation suspended from the portable draft frame and including means having operative connection with the liquid tank for delivering liquid to the soil beneath the surface thereof adjacent said implements; and a compressor for imposing a positive pressure upon the liquid to force discharge thereof from said liquid delivering means.

4. A road building machine including a portable frame; a vertically adjustable implement carrying frame suspended from the portable frame; and means mounted on and movable relatively with respect to said carrying frame for gauging the position of the implement carrying frame relative to the ground. surface, said means including a ground engaging member adapted to travel over the ground surface when the implement frame is in a position of predetermined adjustment.

HELEN INGALLS CROWDER. 

